46. Giant Bones (2)

Lucas scanned the city.

Before he could deal with the Titan Skeleton, he had to find Chateaubriand.

In fact, it was George Lucas, Jumper, who had given him the clues to the Seven Deadly Sins.

'The seal would have been broken sooner or later.'

However, Chateaubriand did not release gluttony as he had expected, and the Titan Skeleton never emerged from the ground.

Eventually, to reduce the variables, George took matters into his own hands.

'He's probably injured by now.'

Chateaubriand had been overexposed to the contaminated area shortly before he'd gotten the Emblem of Gluttony.

Still, he should have survived an earthquake of that magnitude, with the power of gluttony protecting his body.

Lucas's eyes shone as he scanned the city.

'Where are you, Chateau? No, Gluttony, you've taken the burden of Gluttony, and now I'm sending you to your resting place.'

Even when the symbol of the Seven Deadly Sins is killed, it reappears in a new place.

Therefore, it was best to seal the symbol of gluttony away.

'I will not allow it to rampage again.'

The Seven Deadly Sins are the seeds of sin.

Those who possess them gain power, but are constantly forced to sin.

They became the embodiment of absolute evil.

Of course, there were exceptions.

'The exception being that monstrous Leonardo.'

George thought of Leonardo, a monster beyond imagination, and then shook his head.

Just then, the Titan Skeleton took another step forward.

Koo-koo-koo-koo-!

The buildings collapsed again.

It was as lumbering as it was huge.

Its power was immense.

'Oh no--- I'll have to do something about it before it destroys more.

For now, stopping the Titan Skeleton seemed more urgent than finding Chateaubriand.

The Titan Skeleton was a skeleton made from the remains of a forgotten ancient race of gods, the Titans.

In addition to their enormous size, their bones were stronger than most metals, and they were immune to magic, making them extremely difficult to defeat.

Add to that the skeleton's unique ability to regenerate itself.

'But if Bliss comes, we'll be fine.'

S-class Hunter Bliss.

With his powerful Holy Power, even the greatest Skeleton would not be able to withstand him.

'Of course, we'll need other Hunters.'

Others who could grind the Titan Skeletons to powder.

Lucas already had a few candidates in mind.

'I'll just try that one first.'

With his target set, Lucas' body disappeared.

POP!

* * * *

Planet Tybern.

Lucas appeared in the place where Leonardo was beating up Kranids and monsters.

As soon as he appeared in the air, Leonardo's gaze turned towards him.

-What's going on.

Leonardo's voice ripped through the space and pierced Lucas's mind.

-Leonardo, I need your help.

At those words, Leonardo let out a blood-curdling sneer as he blew the monsters away.

-Help?... I'm surprised Jumper would ask for help.

-There's someone on Earth who might be of interest to you.

Lucas explained about the Titan Skeleton.

Leonardo reacted to his words.

-I'm intrigued.

-If you accept, we'll be on our way.

-No. I'm not going.

Leonardo declined Lucas's offer.

-Why?

-I just don't like the idea of doing someone else's bidding.

-... Okay.

Lucas accepted easily.

'I knew he'd say no anyway. It's a shame, because it would have made things easier. I'll have to move on to Plan B.'

Lucas turned and walked away without looking back.

He knew Leonardo's stubbornness.

He was an obstinate man.

* * *

Charles Déon, a French S-class hunter.

Wielding a single rapier called Nidhog, he was a master of the fast sword, stabbing and slashing his targets at blinding speeds.

But putting aside his fearsome swordsmanship, he was a middle-aged gentleman, dressed in an old-fashioned suit and sporting a handsome mustache that curled into a bushy curl.

Normally, he would be relaxing and sipping tea in his mansion, but he was about to take up his sword after he received a call from the Hunter's Association to stop a major disaster.

Poof!

With a flow of mana, George, Jumper, appeared in front of him.

"Hello, Charles."

George, who was also wearing a neat suit, greeted him politely.

"Ah! Mr. Lucas, it's been a while. How nice to see you."

"Yes, it's good to see you too, and you're even more handsome than before."

"Haha. It's nice to hear that, Mr. Lucas, even if it's an empty gesture. You've come a long way, and I'm afraid I'm on an emergency alert, so we won't be able to talk at length. Perhaps we can catch up another time."

"Well, I guess I'm in the right place at the right time, then. Actually, the reason I'm here is to escort you."

"Oh my--- I forgot about your abilities, so please do."

Lucas took Charles's hand.

Pop!

* * *

Africa, a land that had been completely destroyed.

It was engulfed in crystal structures, spewing out monsters in a steady stream.

And a man walked across its perilous soil.

His tanned face was taut but dripping with dirt, and his hair, tied back in a tight ponytail, was full of gray hairs.

His clothes were tattered and looked like they could fall apart at any moment.

Yet, for all his shabby appearance, he seemed to sense no danger.

Perhaps he trusted the sword in his left hand, sheathed in a worn scabbard.

He showed no fear of a monster attack that was happening in real time.

Kyaaaaahhhhhh.

Drakes and wyverns the size of houses lunged at the man.

But,

Shuffle.

rustle

flick-flick-flick

---.

Starting with a drake the size of a house, the monsters that came near the man began to die for no apparent reason.

The monsters were diving at him like moths to a flame, not knowing why they were dying.

The more he traveled, the more monster corpses piled up on the ground.

And they were covered with a strange red mist.

"It's free...."

It had been twenty years since he'd set out to defeat the beast.

He'd also met a Chinese swordsman, but that hadn't satisfied his need.

Today, he just kept moving, moving, moving.

Then Lucas appeared in front of him.

"Ah, I found him. Good work."

Lucas shut down his smartgoggles and stood in front of the man.

"Hello, I'm George Lucas, an American S-class Hunter, leader of the Enlightenment Group."

"George Lucas---Jumper. Am I right?"

"Yes. That's what I'm also known as."

"Are you here to challenge me to a fight?"

"No. I doubt any man would dare to challenge the Swordseeker, haha. The reason I'm here is to ask for your help."

"--- Tell me."

"It's a story I think you'll find interesting. I was in France right now---."

Lucas explained about the Titan Skeleton.

The man's dull eyes lit up as he listened.

"--- Sounds interesting. I'll have to ask you to show me around."

"Thank you, then, if you'll excuse me for a moment---."

As he spoke, Lucas reached out his hand.

In an instant, an enormous amount of killing intent surrounded him.

"Uh-oh, what a force.

Killing intent.

The mindset of killing someone.

But that kind of force has no physical power.

But right now, Lucas's face was bleeding, as if he had been cut by something.

"I very, very much dislike it when anyone touches me without my permission."

"--- Then there's no way to jump."

Of course, Lucas didn't have no way.

It would just be complicated.

"You go first. I'll follow in my own way."

"I see..."

Lucas knew about the Sword Seeker and his abilities, but he had no idea how he was going to follow him now.

But he was too stubborn to change his mind.

'I'll do it if I set my mind to it.'

'This is no time for games, so I'm not going to lose.'

"I'll go first, then."

Pop!

Lucas disappeared.

The man who had been observing him, the Swordseeker, slowly brought his right hand to the sword in his left hand.

And, the moment his right hand grasped the hilt of the sword.

[Space Breaker]

His sword ripped through the space where Lucas had disappeared.

Chaaaahhhhh.

And into that torn space, the Swordseeker leaped.

* * *

A fancy pub.

There, a man was alone, drinking a glass, or rather, a bottle.

Gulp- gulp- gulp- gulp.

The liquor dripping from his mouth soaked his fine shirt.

The man was disheveled, with a scraggly beard and a stained shirt.

"--- Fuck!"

He threw the bottle against the wall, suddenly realizing something was wrong.

Clang!

All eyes in the pub turned to him for a moment at his ferocity, but then they returned to normal.

"Here we go again."

"Ugh, that's what all the S-classes do, they're so temperamental."

"Shhh. He'll hear us."

The voices of the gossipers.

But Scully's eyes were cold ass he watched the man pick up his drink.

"Damn it--I can't get drunk."

Drinking and smoking had been his only pleasures in life.

He'd grown too strong to enjoy them.

Because he'd been awakened.

Even when he tried the Dragon's Breath, the liquor that was supposed to make Hunter drunk, it was the same thing.

He would just pour it down for the taste.

Scully ordered another round.

"Hey, get me a drink."

"Hold on, cancel the order."

Someone sat down next to Scully.

He turned his head to look at the person sitting next to him.

Nice suit, neat haircut.

It was Lucas.

"You're..."

"It's been a long time, Mr. John Scully. No, Bliss."

Lucas smirked.

"I'll pay for the drinks, but you'll have to excuse us."

"What? What do you want---."

"It's urgent."

Lucas put a hand on Scully's shoulder.

Pop!

* * *

Scully blinked, and realized he was standing in the middle of some ruins.

Realizing that the Jumper had moved him, Scully's anger flared. He snapped at Jumper next to him.

"No, you don't get to make me---."

"Forgive me, but this is a national crisis, and we really need your help. Look over there."

Scully looked where he pointed.

A huge--no, huge wasn't the right word--skeleton was moving.

"What is that bony thing."

"It's a Titan skeleton. A skeleton made from the carcasses of ancient Titans, if that makes sense."

"--- Mmm---."

The two men, Charles Déon and Swordseeker, were obstructing the Titan Skeleton.

Compared to the Titan Skeleton's size, they appeared to be the size of beans.

But the moment the two men's bodies blurred out of existence, a miracle happened.

The steel from Swordseeker's battered sword pulsed, unleashing a storm of power.

The skeleton's calf bone shattered as it was caught in the storm.

At the same time, Charles Deon's raipier swung frantically, creating a cloud of sword aura.

The cloud-like sword aura enveloped the skeleton's fragmented bones.

The light from the swords enveloped the bones in the blink of an eye.

Zzzzzz-!

Then, the skeleton's right calf bone crumbled into powder and scattered.

With its leg gone, the skeleton lost its balance and fell.

The Skeleton once again crushed the already ruined district.

[Kaaaaaaaaaah-!!! You little bugs!!!]

The air crackled and rumbled, and an unknown language hurt the ears.

But Charles Déon didn't seem to mind, and spoke to the Swordseeker.

-Hmm, I haven't seen you before, but you're quite the fighter.

-You're an interesting swordsman. Why don't we have a fight when we're done?

-I was hoping so.

At the same time, the head of the skeletons lying in the city turned sideways.

The skeleton's eyes turned to the ground.

[Burn!!!]

A laser-like light shot out from its burning eyes.

The searing light of the eye swept across the city, creating a long path of fire in the city of Paris.

And it was headed in Scully's direction.

"Eek---."

Scully quickly surrounded himself with his power.

Scully is enveloped in holy white light.

Shoot.

The light struck, but the 'wall' held.

Scully, however, was furious that he had been dragged into the fray.

"Dude, stop it!"

At the same time,

the clouds in the sky began to glow.

A cloud filled with holy light.

Then, a pillar of light poured down from the sky.

The pillar of light was directed at the head of the Titan Skeleton.

The Titan Skeleton's skull was struck by the pillar of light, and it began to crumble into ash.

[Crackle-!!!]

The pillar of light lasted for roughly five seconds.

However, in that brief exposure, the head of the titan skeleton, which was hundreds of meters in size, evaporated in an instant.

The power was immense.

"It's Bliss, after all, you're really powerful."

Lucas was nowhere to be seen during the blast of the eye laser, but when the titan skeleton's head vanished, he was back at Scully's side.

Scully was furious.

"Enough, send me back."

"You helped us, so of course I'm sending you back, but this isn't over."

Lucas jerked his chin.

Scully followed the direction he pointed and saw the Titan skeleton.

A monster with its head and right calf blown off.

But the debris scattered on the ground was flying back to the Titan Skeleton's body, reuniting it.

"As you can see, I think you're going to have to give it a long bath with the same thing."

"--- Oh, fuck."

Scully stomped his foot on the floor.

"Why do I have to help you?"

"For the good of mankind, of course, and I'll make sure the French government and I compensate you handsomely. You're looking for a way to get drunk, aren't you, and I've got a solution for that, too, so help me out."

Lucas knew Scully well enough to know that the offer came out of his mouth like a shotgun blast.

He smirked.

"You have a way to get me drunk?"

Scully was ready to say no, no matter what Lucas said.

But then he heard his offer and found himself tempted.

A way to get drunk.

'I don't like his smile, and he's a dick, but if it's real---. Okay, the terms are good. I'll try my luck for the first time in a while.'

He was about to accept Lucas's offer.

The sound of something being sucked in began to be heard.

The epicenter of the sound was where the Titan Skeleton had fallen.

The two men turned their heads in that direction.

There was an incredible sight unfolding.

The bone fragments of the Titan Skeleton that had been flying toward the sky just moments ago.

It was now falling to one side, enveloped in a blue aura.

It looked like smoke from a chimney going upside down.

And its destination,

in a man's mouth.

Haaaaa!